The invention pertains to a device for handling and/or transporting the work rolls and/or back-up rolls of a roll stand, with which the work rolls and/or the back-up rolls can be moved from the roll stand to a roll workshop by a locomotive traveling on a track.
Devices of this type make it possible to replace the rolls of a roll stand when the rolls have reached the end of their service life and must be taken back to a roll workshop for reprocessing. The removed rolls are replaced by a new set of rolls, so that production can continue.
Many different solutions for designing a device of the general type in question are known from the prior art. EP 1 954 416 B1 describes a device of this type, in which a support frame for holding the rolls comprises a changing carriage, wherein the support frame has rails on its top side, on which the changing carriage rests and can be moved transversely to a roll changing pit, wherein the changing carriage is designed with devices for holding the sets of rolls.
Similar solution are described in EP 1 951 452 E1, in WO 2005/089972 A1, in WO 2007/080091 A1 in EP 1 951 453 B1, in WO 03/015949 A1, and in DE 31 23 933 C2.
DE 15 27 628 A1 discloses a roll-changing device, which is characterized in that a roll support frame has two platforms arranged on above the other, each of which can hold a pair of work rolls, wherein this frame can be moved vertically, so that each of the two platforms can be arranged at an appropriate height for transferring the work rolls between the platform and the roll stand and between the platform and a roll storage location. It can also be used to keep a set of replacement rolls on hand near the roll stand until the rolls are installed. The disadvantage here is the relatively complicated design of the device.
The structural complexity of the standard roll-changing devices is acknowledged in WO 2007/080087 A1. To reduce this complexity, it is proposed here that a first set of rolls for a roll stand be changed by a first locomotive and that a second set of rolls in the same roll stand be changed by a second locomotive, wherein the same locomotive is used as the first locomotive and as the second locomotive. The locomotive travels on a track. It is disadvantageous that a relatively complex design is required so that the rolls in question can be coupled to one of the locomotives.